DESPITE costing Chelsea £50m, the Spanish striker has failed to hit the heights he reached at Liverpool and is no longer a player the London side can rely on.

ONE of the main reasons Rafa Benitez is now at Chelsea is because Roman Abramovich believes the Spaniard will be able to bring the best out of his fellow countryman Fernando Torres.

No chance. Torres is finished in the EPL and there isn’t a hope in hell Chelsea will win the title with him spearheading the attack.

The 28-year-old’s best days appear to be behind him and he hasn’t produced anything near top form since before the 2010 World Cup.

He hasn’t scored in the league this season since a win over Norwich on 6th October.

What has happened to the guy who used to terrorise opponents, frightened of the way he’d out-run them and convert a chance if he was given just a glimmer of goal?

My old Chelsea team-mate Robbie di Matteo knew Torres was a spent force. He wanted to replace him in the summer with Atletico Madrid’s Falcao but Abramovich wasn’t having it.

The Russian billionaire is extremely protective of his £50million investment and the message was loud and clear: Torres had to play.

When di Matteo left him out of the starting line-up in the 3-0 defeat to Juventus in midweek he knew he was risking his job.

He was sacked a few hours later, at 3am, back at the Cobham training ground.

Some of my fellow pundits, such as Graeme Souness and Ruud Gullit, were surprised di Matteo was sacked just six months after leading the club to Champions League and FA Cup glory.

But they shouldn’t have been. I’m astonished they have been taken aback by this.

It was the worst kept secret in football that di Matteo was only keeping the seat warm for someone else, most probably Pep Guardiola.

It’s doing the rounds that Guardiola’s agents have agreed a deal in principle for him to move to Chelsea next June on a deal worth in excess of £300,000 a week.

Some say Guardiola would be foolish to work for such a trigger-happy owner but the money is not to be sniffed at. Every manager believes he can be the one to tame the owner and convince him not to interfere in team matters and transfers. That in itself is a huge challenge as Abramovich doesn’t like being told what to do.

But he better be wary if he is putting himself out on a limb to get Guardiola in the hope of bringing the Barcelona blueprint and style of football to Chelsea.

Because I wouldn’t rule out Guardiola returning to Barca next season or getting an offer from Man United or Man City to become their new boss. All offers will be extremely attractive and lucrative so Abramovich should be careful he doesn’t end up with the biggest custard pie of his career in football.

But that is for the future. The here and now is Benitez and he has to get the team going again.

The Chelsea fans are not keen on him but a win this afternoon at home to Man City will see them quickly get right behind him.

If he is successful then he may end up with the job on a permanent basis. But I can’t see Chelsea getting the better of City and United this season.

If Benitez is allowed to bring in a top striker in January then they might just mount a serious challenge but it will not happen with Torres playing up front.

He was arguably the best striker in the world when Benitez had him at Liverpool. But his decline at the highest level has been rapid.

We will see if Benitez can bring out the best in Torres again. If it doesn’t work out for both of them then Abramovich will be unhappy. It might lead to Benitez not even seeing the season out.

Abramovich will be criticised for firing yet another manager but say what you like about him, he has presided over the most successful period in the club’s history.

Since he appointed Jose Mourinho in summer 2004, three titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a Champions League have been delivered.

A total of 10 pieces of major silverware.

In the same period of time, Man United, Man City and Arsenal have won 11 major trophies between them.

There’s clearly method in Abramovich’s madness.

Hoops will miss their £10m man Wanyama

Victor Wanyama is a name on the lips of every major club down south with Arsenal and Manchester United leading the chase.

As I go about my media work in England, the Celtic midfielder dominates much of the conversation in the different stadia.

From colleagues to coaches, I’ve often been asked my opinion about him and I have only given him rave reviews.

He is a top midfielder and has dominated many important games for Neil Lennon’s men.

This has led to him being rated at around £10million, a fair price in my opinion for his undoubted talent.

He is suspended for the final Champions League game against Spartak Moscow and will be missed. Scott Brown is also struggling with injury and may not participate.

Losing two influential players from the engine room may well damage Celtic’s chances.

After the result in Lisbon, they are no longer in the driving seat for qualification to the last 16.

Benfica now have a slight edge although they face a much more difficult task as they have to go to Barcelona.

I hope Celtic pull it off. It would be unfortunate if this campaign ended on a low note after some brilliant highs in recent months.

Time to bin Gers probe

So Rangers have won the Big Tax Case. Any chance we can now all move on?

Let’s bin the probe into dual contracts and talk of stripping the club of titles. It will do nobody any good but will start another war, regardless of the outcome.

It’s in the past and the game in Scotland should be using its energy to concentrate on creating a brighter future.

In many ways, our game is on its knees. But the in-fighting and back-stabbing continues.

The people in power at the SFA, SPL and SFL need to show proper and decisive leadership. They haven’t managed to do so in the recent past but it’s not too late for them to get their act together. I’m just not sure they all possess the qualities to do so.